Hong Kong stocks ended lower in dwindling turnover yesterday after a late sell-down of property counters following their results season.
Brokers said Thursday's worse-than-expected earnings of New World Development had provided many investors with an excuse to take profits on the sector after its recent rise.
The surge in US bond yields over the past few days added to selling pressure and left many brokers pessimistic about the market's prospects next week.
The Hang Seng Index closed 73.38 points down at 10,957.20, a loss of 0.66 per cent. At one stage it had been 39.85 points up.
Turnover was moderate at $4.33 billion, up from the revised $4.08 billion for Thursday.
Lennon Chan, director at Tai Fook Securities, said: 'There was a lot of selling pressure on property stocks now that there is no exciting news about property prices to come out.' New World suffered one of the biggest percentage losses among blue-chip stocks, falling 80 cents, or 2.17 per cent, to $36, after it said operating profit dropped by more than a third in the second half of last year.
